Ben Pinchot [Harald Kreutzberg]

Ben Pinchot (1890 – 11986), American photographer and author, original silver gelatin print of the German dancer and choreographer Harald Kreutzberg. Autographed by Pinchot.

Ben Pinchot established his photographic studio in 1927 and immediately made an impression as a new talent among theatrical photographers. After declaring bankruptcy, he moved with his wife, the novelist Ann Pinchot to  the raffish center of jazz and after-hours nightlife in Manhattan. There he fashioned a studio in their apartment and his wife hosted a famous salon where the musicians playing on "Swing Street," actors, and writers consorted.  In 1935 he published with Bridgman Publishers, along with a concurrent London publication by John Lane, a collection of black and white drape shots and nudes entitled, 'Female Form.' 1934 marked the year of his arrival as a force in the market, when he suddenly became an A-list photographer, concentrating on character studies of dancers, actors, and operatic singers, nudes, artistic experiments, and scene shots of plays and operas that interested him. The Pinchots enjoyed a collaborative marriage, with Pinochot contributing images and sometimes prose to Ann's books, particularly 1949's 'Hear This Woman.'  In the late 1930s and early 1940s his portraits of novelists and poets were ubiquitous in American newspapers and magazines.

Harald Kreutzberg (December 11, 1902 — April 24, 1968), German modern dancer and choreographer best known for solos that combined dance with mime. Trained at the Dresden Ballet School, Kreutzberg also studied modern dance with Mary Wigman and Rudolf Laban. Beginning in 1927, he appeared in plays directed by Max Reinhardt, and in 1929 he went with Reinhardt to New York City. Kreutzberg then toured the U.S., Canada, and Europe with the dancer Yvonne Georgi, and in 1932 he joined Ruth Page for tours of the U.S. and the Far East.

This unsigned, vintage Pinchot image is in good condition aside from some slight expected age wear, light surface marks and soiling. The photographer has signed "Ben Pinchot" on the bottom right hand corner of the mount. There is some wear and chipping to the signature. The photograph, just under 11 x 14 inches, has been mounted to a slightly larger piece of thick cork board. The title "Harald Kreutzberg / German Dancer" has been written on the mount's verso.